School of Sociology, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210027, Tucson, AZ, 87521, USA.
Hopi Department of Health & Human Services, P.O. Box 123, Kykotsmovi, AZ, 86039, USA.
J Community Health. 2019 Oct;44(5):896-902. doi: 10.1007/s10900-019-00627-8.
American Indian and Alaska Native populations experience chronic disparities in a wide range of health outcomes, many of which are associated with disproportionate exposures to environmental health hazards. In the American Southwest, many indigenous tribes experience challenges in securing access to sustainable and safe sources of drinking water, limiting air pollution emissions on and off tribal lands, and cleaning up hazardous contaminants left over from a legacy of natural resource extraction. To better understand how households perceive the risk of exposure to potential environmental health risks, we conducted six focus groups organized by age and geographic location on the Hopi reservation. Focus group participants (n = 41) were asked to reflect on changes in their natural and manmade environment and how their health might be influenced by any potential changes. By investigating these environmental risk perceptions, we were able to identify arsenic in drinking water and indoor air quality as significant exposures of concern. These risk perceptions were frequently anchored in personal and familial experiences with health problems such as cancer and asthma. Older focus group participants identified ongoing shifts away from tradition and cultural practices as increasing environmental health risks. Similar to other communities economically dependent on the extraction of natural resources, focus group participants described the need for behavioral modifications regarding environmental health risks rather than eliminating the sources of potential health risks entirely. Our results suggest the need for including traditional values and practices in future interventions to reduce environmental health risks.
美国印第安人和阿拉斯加原住民在广泛的健康结果方面持续存在差异，其中许多与不成比例地接触环境健康危害有关。在美国西南部，许多土著部落难以确保获得可持续和安全的饮用水源，限制部落土地上和土地外的空气污染排放，以及清理自然资源开采遗留下来的危险污染物。为了更好地了解家庭对潜在环境健康风险的暴露风险的看法，我们在霍皮保留地按年龄和地理位置组织了六次焦点小组。焦点小组参与者（n=41）被要求反思他们的自然和人为环境的变化，以及他们的健康可能会受到任何潜在变化的影响。通过调查这些环境风险感知，我们能够确定饮用水和室内空气质量中的砷是令人关注的重要暴露源。这些风险感知常常以个人和家庭的健康问题为依据，例如癌症和哮喘。年长的焦点小组参与者认为，远离传统和文化习俗的持续转变正在增加环境健康风险。与其他经济上依赖自然资源开采的社区类似，焦点小组参与者描述了需要针对环境健康风险进行行为改变，而不是完全消除潜在健康风险的来源。我们的研究结果表明，在减少环境健康风险的未来干预措施中，需要纳入传统价值观和实践。
